Copy and paste this worksheet as a separate page linked to the Homepage of your portfolio. DO NOT type your answers on THIS document because it needs to be used by other students. The title of your page which replies to these questions is linked to your portfolio and should begin with the first initials of your first and last name. (In my case, the link to this worksheet from my portfolio page would read frtrifles.)
You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, August, 25). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points, if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Trifles. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
In the beginning of the play Trifles, the stasis is one of messiness and confusion. The kitchen is unkempt, with certain things not put in their proper places. The characters of this play match the kitchen with their confusion of the situation at hand. Although citizens of the same town, their seems to be a general lack of knowledge on Mr. and Mrs. Wright. We know that the play takes place in a farm town during a particularly chilly day in winter. However, we are not given the specific town name. Trifles is based on the murder of John Hossack, a news story that Susan Gladspell, the author, worked on while in Des Moines, Iowa. So we can assume that this probably takes place around the mid-western region of the country. We are not given a specific date either. However, we do know that the murder of John Hossack was committed in 1900, so we can also assume that the time period of the play is around that date as well. The physical characters in this play include three men and two women. They are the County Attorney (Mr. George Henderson), the local sheriff (Mr. Henry Peters), Mr. Lewis Hale, Mrs. Peters (wife of Mr. Henry Peters), and Mrs. Hale (wife of Mr. Lewis Hale). There also two morecharacter that, although not physically in the play, do have a major presence. They are Mr. John Wright and Mrs. Minnie "Foster" Wright. The main characters, however, are Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. Each character seems to start off the play confused as to what actually happened, however, there are two different dramatic situations that are represented by the two different genders in the play. The men seem to be in agreement that Mrs. Wright killed her husband. However, the women seem more inclined to other possibilities, and they begin to find things the men do not. This puts both women in a rare position of power in terms of whether or not to convict or acquit.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
Near the end of the play, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale find a box containing a dead bird wrapped in silk. They both soon begin to feel dread when seeing how the bird was killed. This sudden realization of how the bird died is the intrusion that causes their stasis to be broken. There are no more questions. Once they know the bird's cause of death, all the answers coming flowing in, and they must decide how they will use the information they now know.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
Isolation plays an incredibly unique role in this play. None of the characters in this play (Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale in particular) seem to know anything specific about the Wright's. When describing Mr. and Mrs. Right, the characters are quite assumptive. Not only are the Wright's physically isolated from everyone else in town, but they have been unintentionally ostracized from everyone else in town.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Should Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters tell the County Attorney that they have crucial evidence leading to the conviction of Mrs. Wright?
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale.
To begin the play, we see that Mrs. Hale is reluctant to venture into the farmhouse. She, more than anyone else in the play, has a sense of unease when inside the farmhouse. This is displayed throughout the first few scenes of the play. Mrs. Hale doesn't speak until everyone else has first. She also conveys to Mrs. Peters how much she dislikes this house and how somber and sad it is. This leads Mrs. Hale into an internal conflict: me against myself. She, in some way, personally feels responsible for Mrs. Wright's anguish. Maybe she could have done more to make Mrs. Wright's life more bearable. This leads us to the dramatic question of whether or not the women should report the evidence to the Country Attorney. There is another internal battle that she (and Mrs. Peters) must come to terms with. As Mrs. Peters says, "the law is the law". This is where Mrs. Hale's past guilt comes into play. She can't fix the past, but maybe she can help write the future. This leads to her concealment of thee bird from the authorities. She has fought another battle, this time against society. In terms of the law, what she has just done is despicable. On the surface, she has withheld evidence leading to the conviction of a woman who has killed her innocent husband. But, in her eyes, the man wasn't so innocent after all. Was she right to withhold information? That's hard to say. But she has successfully subdued the guilt that she felt during the play.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles.
The intrusion is the most theatrical partof Trifles. From the discovery of the bird's cause of death, we are given a depiction of the horror Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are witnessing. It is the "aha" moment that ties everything together. It's also theatrical because of the new questions that it arises. The hiding of the bird from authorities is also very theatrical. We, the audience, know the truth. The men continue to poke fun at the women, but we know that the women actually know more than the men.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
As it is used in the play, a trifle is something that can be perceived as frivolous. In the play, Mr. Hale says that "...women are used to worrying over trifles". Trifles are seen as something that only women concern themselves with. They display the light-years of difference between men and women during this time period. Women's concerns and worries are considered inferior to men's. This can be seen in a few images in the play. One such image is the dead bird. In literature, the suffrage and trapped feeling of women have long been displayed as a caged bird.This goes back to the meaning of trifles. A woman's views, opinions, concerns, beliefs, and even joys are subservient to man's.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles.
A major theme associated with Trifles is the social battle of Men vs. Women. The women are the one's who solve the case, however, they view the whole ordeal in a different perspective than the man. The men are concerned with the outer shell while the women are more concerned with the subtext. Yes, Mr. Wright did appear to be a good citizen, but there was more to him than meets the eye. There are also themes of isolation and neglect in this play. The Wright's were physically apart from their neighbors, but they were also neglected (specifically Minnie Foster) in terms of how they were treated compared to the rest of the citizens in the town. And finally, justice is a theme that hangs on Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters during the final act of the play. The women must pass judgement on whether or not to convict Minnie Foster.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles?
Family is explored through several ways during Trifles. Mrs. Peters, when discovering the truth of the murder, speaks about how she lost her young child while homesteading in Dakota. In this instance, we associate a loss of family with a loss of one's self. Family is also associated with community. The two women continue to lament the fact that they weren't there for Minnie Foster. There is a sense that, as a woman, times are tough enough when you have other women supporting you. How tough must it have been for her to go through womanhood in this time period alone? In this way, the torment suffered by Minnie Foster is like the downfall of a family member. In this way, it hurts the two women so much more
You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, August, 25). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points, if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Trifles. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
In the beginning of the play Trifles, the stasis is one of messiness and confusion. The kitchen is unkempt, with certain things not put in their proper places. The characters of this play match the kitchen with their confusion of the situation at hand. Although citizens of the same town, their seems to be a general lack of knowledge on Mr. and Mrs. Wright. We know that the play takes place in a farm town during a particularly chilly day in winter. However, we are not given the specific town name. Trifles is based on the murder of John Hossack, a news story that Susan Gladspell, the author, worked on while in Des Moines, Iowa. So we can assume that this probably takes place around the mid-western region of the country. We are not given a specific date either. However, we do know that the murder of John Hossack was committed in 1900, so we can also assume that the time period of the play is around that date as well. The physical characters in this play include three men and two women. They are the County Attorney (Mr. George Henderson), the local sheriff (Mr. Henry Peters), Mr. Lewis Hale, Mrs. Peters (wife of Mr. Henry Peters), and Mrs. Hale (wife of Mr. Lewis Hale). There also two more character that, although not physically in the play, do have a major presence. They are Mr. John Wright and Mrs. Minnie "Foster" Wright. The main characters, however, are Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. Each character seems to start off the play confused as to what actually happened, however, there are two different dramatic situations that are represented by the two different genders in the play. The men seem to be in agreement that Mrs. Wright killed her husband. However, the women seem more inclined to other possibilities, and they begin to find things the men do not. This puts both women in a rare position of power in terms of whether or not to convict or acquit.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
Near the end of the play, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale find a box containing a dead bird wrapped in silk. They both soon begin to feel dread when seeing how the bird was killed. This sudden realization of how the bird died is the intrusion that causes their stasis to be broken. There are no more questions. Once they know the bird's cause of death, all the answers coming flowing in, and they must decide how they will use the information they now know.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
Isolation plays an incredibly unique role in this play. None of the characters in this play (Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale in particular) seem to know anything specific about the Wright's. When describing Mr. and Mrs. Right, the characters are quite assumptive. Not only are the Wright's physically isolated from everyone else in town, but they have been unintentionally ostracized from everyone else in town.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Should Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters tell the County Attorney that they have crucial evidence leading to the conviction of Mrs. Wright?
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale.
To begin the play, we see that Mrs. Hale is reluctant to venture into the farmhouse. She, more than anyone else in the play, has a sense of unease when inside the farmhouse. This is displayed throughout the first few scenes of the play. Mrs. Hale doesn't speak until everyone else has first. She also conveys to Mrs. Peters how much she dislikes this house and how somber and sad it is. This leads Mrs. Hale into an internal conflict: me against myself. She, in some way, personally feels responsible for Mrs. Wright's anguish. Maybe she could have done more to make Mrs. Wright's life more bearable. This leads us to the dramatic question of whether or not the women should report the evidence to the Country Attorney. There is another internal battle that she (and Mrs. Peters) must come to terms with. As Mrs. Peters says, "the law is the law". This is where Mrs. Hale's past guilt comes into play. She can't fix the past, but maybe she can help write the future. This leads to her concealment of thee bird from the authorities. She has fought another battle, this time against society. In terms of the law, what she has just done is despicable. On the surface, she has withheld evidence leading to the conviction of a woman who has killed her innocent husband. But, in her eyes, the man wasn't so innocent after all. Was she right to withhold information? That's hard to say. But she has successfully subdued the guilt that she felt during the play.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles.
The intrusion is the most theatrical part of Trifles. From the discovery of the bird's cause of death, we are given a depiction of the horror Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are witnessing. It is the "aha" moment that ties everything together. It's also theatrical because of the new questions that it arises. The hiding of the bird from authorities is also very theatrical. We, the audience, know the truth. The men continue to poke fun at the women, but we know that the women actually know more than the men.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
As it is used in the play, a trifle is something that can be perceived as frivolous. In the play, Mr. Hale says that "...women are used to worrying over trifles". Trifles are seen as something that only women concern themselves with. They display the light-years of difference between men and women during this time period. Women's concerns and worries are considered inferior to men's. This can be seen in a few images in the play. One such image is the dead bird. In literature, the suffrage and trapped feeling of women have long been displayed as a caged bird. This goes back to the meaning of trifles. A woman's views, opinions, concerns, beliefs, and even joys are subservient to man's.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles.
A major theme associated with Trifles is the social battle of Men vs. Women. The women are the one's who solve the case, however, they view the whole ordeal in a different perspective than the man. The men are concerned with the outer shell while the women are more concerned with the subtext. Yes, Mr. Wright did appear to be a good citizen, but there was more to him than meets the eye. There are also themes of isolation and neglect in this play. The Wright's were physically apart from their neighbors, but they were also neglected (specifically Minnie Foster) in terms of how they were treated compared to the rest of the citizens in the town. And finally, justice is a theme that hangs on Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters during the final act of the play. The women must pass judgement on whether or not to convict Minnie Foster.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles?
Family is explored through several ways during Trifles. Mrs. Peters, when discovering the truth of the murder, speaks about how she lost her young child while homesteading in Dakota. In this instance, we associate a loss of family with a loss of one's self. Family is also associated with community. The two women continue to lament the fact that they weren't there for Minnie Foster. There is a sense that, as a woman, times are tough enough when you have other women supporting you. How tough must it have been for her to go through womanhood in this time period alone? In this way, the torment suffered by Minnie Foster is like the downfall of a family member. In this way, it hurts the two women so much more